I ARRIVED AT MY BEACH HOUSE EXPECTING PEACE-YILUX

his voice cracked just slightly, enough to remind me of who he had been.

I felt something inside me shift, not breaking, not softening completely, but moving, just enough to let the truth exist without pushing it away.

“Then don’t,” I replied, and I let the simplicity of it carry the weight it needed, because anything more would have made it easier to continue reading …